Saaaayyyy... is there a thread anywhere (maybe stickied) that has links to each of the Development videos that Josh posted to YouTube, along with maybe a brief description of that video's highlights?

No, but that's a good idea and I should put one together. Actually, no, that's an excellent idea.

January 2013: LT Dev Update #1
Josh talks about nebula generation, ship shaders, shields, and the RTS interface, as well as showing collision detection and handling. Lots of talk about asteroids in this one.

February 2013: LT Dev Update #2
Josh talks about the new sound effects, the command interface, power distribution, interface customization, and procedural music. He talks a good deal about missiles, too.

March 2013: LT Dev Update #3
Josh shows the inside of a hangar base, including the new market system, where he demonstrates buying and selling parts and ships. He takes a few missions from the new missions system, shows off the weapons and subsystems HUD, and we see two large-scale dogfights.

May 2013: LT Dev Update #5
Nebulas are prettier. Josh shows warp lanes and planets, as well as the new free camera mode and universe map. He also uses "jump holes" to jump between three different systems.

June 2013: LT Dev Update #6
Josh shows off the greatly upgraded ship textures, HDR bloom and other lighting effects such as dust clouds and god rays. He also shows off the upgraded ship viewer interface, which he uses to create and launch guided missiles.

July 2013: LT Dev Update #7
Josh shows us non-seamless planetary landings, including terrain, water, and atmospheric scattering. He then talks for the rest of the video about his plans for AI and universe generation.

August 2013: LT Dev Update #8
Josh shows the upgraded asteroid fields: bigger fields and bigger asteroids. He also shows a WIP station model, lets us listen to some of Francois Jolin's music, and talks more about his plans for the future of AI in Limit Theory.

October 2013: LT Dev Update #10
The focus of this month was procedural research demonstrations, procedural tech trees, and the node-based data editor. Also mentioned are the new double precision engine, huge planets, the ability to mod (to some lesser extent), and the fact that Josh is not interested in ever changing warp lane functionality.

November 2013: LT Dev Update #11
Josh mentions he made some major changes to the AI, but mostly focuses on the node-based UI this time. Almost all UI has been transferred to the node-based system. He shows the new 3d ship interface and 3d universe map.

December 2013: LT Dev Update #12
Nebulas are now rendered in high dynamic range. Josh also upgraded the metal shaders again, added new motion effects, and improved dynamic lighting. On the non-graphics side, he implemented a holographic node-based ship interface, added split-screen interface capability, and changed station inventory and job boards over to the node UI system. He also upgraded AI to be able to make contracts and requests at stations.

January 2014: LT Dev Update #13
Josh shows his new scanner tech, just one of many new HUD features, including widgets, an upgraded ship viewer, a targeting reticle, and a worldspace information overlay. In terms of graphics, Josh mentions chromatic aberration, bloom, and SMAA.

February 2014: LT Dev Update #14
Josh shows us a lot of mining gameplay, including prospecting drones and mining beams. He also shows us the new, greatly improved scanner implementation, some changes to ship algorithms, and ice asteroids.

April 2014: LT Dev Update #16
Josh shows us a living system with real piracy, mining corporations, and small-scale combat between factions. He also shows us the project system, buying and selling goods, and the upgraded commodity interface. Finally, he mentions that he upgraded the graphics in almost all areas.

May 2014: LT Dev Update #17
Josh explains and demonstrates the new research mechanics, including blueprints and assembly chips, and also shows off planetary rings and the upgraded nebula algorithms. Toward the end, he talks more about the improved and expanded mission mechanics, as well as data as a tradable commodity.

June 2014: LT Dev Update #18
Josh talks a lot about the new "zone tech" - dynamic content-generating regions. He also briefly discusses planetary colonies and demonstrates that you can land on them, and finishes the video by talking about moddability and the precursor to LTSL while consistently losing dogfights.

July 2014: LT Dev Update #19
Most of the video is about LTSL and modding. Josh does some real-time dev work on procedural icons using LTSL, showing how you can change things within the game while it's still running. He also shows a few changes to ship design and the interface.

September 2014: LT Dev Update #20
Josh shows us changes in a number of areas. First, we see a lot of UI and HUD changes. He talks about the scanner more, shows us a wormhole close up, and then talks some about graphics, including the updated nebula algorithms, improved bloom, and lighting tech. He goes on to talk about colonies, cultures, the birth of NPCs and cultural traits, and finishes off with talking about LTSL and showing us lots of live coding, as well as demonstrating his testbed tech.

December 2014: LT Dev Update #21
Josh starts off by giving us a few minutes of relaxing HUD-less shinies. He then goes on to introduce warp nodes and warp rails, planetary rings, and an improved system map, all in a system with a lot of AI activity. After this, he shows us the new market interface, and a number of testbeds he's been using.

On navigation: I'm more text-oriented than visuals-oriented; it's also tough to get an overview understanding of a video just from one frame.

That said, I certainly wouldn't want to suggest that my preferred way of quickly grokking something is the only way. Are there any other ways these videos could be represented visually that don't require a lot of scrolling?

For example (and I have no idea of the feasibility of this; I'm just spitballing here), what if YouTube links could be displayed in a table-like grid? Then you'd only have six rows of thumbnails (five rows of four and one row of one thumbnail) to scroll through instead of 21 -- one frame from each of them in a nice, densely-packed view. That assumes a [table][/table] option, and that YouTube links can be rendered in them as thumbnails.

If those conditions were true, would that kind of navigation work better for you (and maybe others)?

If LT isn't out by September 8th, 2018 I may just head on down there myself and have a visit with the great node as well.

How about we hope for the beta by that date..

Given the history, full release before that point is very unlikely. 2019-2020 is realistic at this point I would guess.

I would guess that speculating on the release date is as much an effort in colonic extraction as it's always been.

I'm not gonna speculate on the date. I'm just gonna make good on my threat promise to give wonderboy an asswhooping if we dont hear his soothing voice in the next 365 days. Though I strongly think we won't hear it again until the beta announcement, so I suppose I'm implying I think it's gonna be less than a year

If you're trying to fill the multiverse, and you're not willing to consider the entire creative output of humanity as a starting point, you're wasting your time.

Trying not to sound like a broken record but I would very much like to see a video containing images of good looking, well-designed space hardware. To see awesome looking space stations looming out of the darkness would give me immense pleasure. To see beautiful ships in motion cruising through that gorgeous backdrop of LT space accompanied by the much-loved voice of Josh Parnell enthusiastically introducing us to his creations has become a bit of a daydream for me of late. And fleets of those giant ships of war that were talked of in earlier days....perhaps I dream too much.